Conflict Blotter

The Israeli cabinet approved a list of 256 Palestinian prisoners to be freed this Friday. Meanwhile, however, Israel quietly released former Hamas minister Nasser Shaer from prison today. Freeing the most senior Hamas lawmaker to be rounded up since the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit over one year ago may be a strong indication of progress in talks to free Shalit. In that context, Shaer’s release would be a sort of show of good faith in those negotiations. After Hamas released the Shalit audio tape last month, public pressure on the government to secure the captured soldier’s release has increased.